DannyRaphael inspired me to attempt this...

A few days ago I posted a picture of a baby's hand reaching for a flower that I wanted to look painted and several people helped me out. DannyRaphael had three outstanding examples to show me and said that if he could do it anyone could do it. I decided (as I'm at home, sick) to give it a try.
This is my very first attempt ever at trying to get a painted look. Good? Bad? Ugly? Thanks for any input.
Brandi

Great effort Brandi. You have entered a world beyond anything you have ever imagined. If you are truly a creative person, computer based art is a world unto itself. It can provide you with endless hours of entertainment and tremendous feelings of accomplishment. Here at RetouchPro you will find encouragement at each level of your development and an almost infinite educational resource. Partake freely and participate often and before you know it you will be one of the regulars that others look to for advice. Always remember, in art, the first person you must please is yourself.

Danny has been an inspiration to many of us at RetouchPro, so no surprise that he's managed to convince someone else to have a try at Photo Art. Hope you continue with it, and find as much enjoyment as many of us have.

Holy smoke: That is WONDERFUL work, Brandi... and believe it when I say, "You have inspired ME and others I am sure" by this outstanding effort.

From this beginning it is my sincere prediction that: "You have a long and rewarding (personally speaking or financially if you choose to get into 'pet painting' commercially) future ahead of you." No kidding.

See attached image for some "puppy chow" for thought... Think about formal portraits done in oils or a photo. The artist or photographer normally poses the subject in front of some sort of decorative and complementary colored, but not real eye catching background to ensure when the work is complete, there's nothing in the background to draw attention away from the subject.

When making a portrait from an unposed snapshot like this, one typically has to do some manipulation to "paint out" unwanted background distractions. Here I just "smooshed" the existing colors/shapes using Den's Funky Chunky brush in Painter, one of many methods possible. In addition one usually needs to take colors into consideration depending on subject and the desired "look," something I did not do in my example. The point is to be aware of potential background distractions.

Sometimes details can get lost in the shadows. To open up some of the shadow areas I used a Levels adjustment layer. I dragged the middle slider left a little, then did ctrl + I to invert the mask and finally painted (airbrush setting on, flow=30%, opacity=40%) with white to selectively reveal a little more detail around his nose, eyes & ears.

She talks about a number 23 preset that I don't have in Photoshop 7. Is there some way to get it? I think what I used on the dog is about the same, but just curious as I don't know about "presets".
Also, she used a "soften edges" preset. It looks very handy. Is there anything like that for Photoshop 7? Or a way to simulate it?
I realize that you may have no idea what I'm talking about, but thought I'd give it a shot.
I'm hoping to be snowed in this weekend...4-6 inches on the way I hear. So I'm going to try "painting" a baby, which I'm sure will be much harder than a puppy. I thought the soften edges thing looked like what I might need. Thanks for any input. I'm starting to like this forum as much as my Canon Forum.
Brandi

She talks about a number 23 preset that I don't have in Photoshop 7. Is there some way to get it? I think what I used on the dog is about the same, but just curious as I don't know about "presets".

Also, she used a "soften edges" preset. It looks very handy. Is there anything like that for Photoshop 7? Or a way to simulate it?

I realize that you may have no idea what I'm talking about, but thought I'd give it a shot.

I'm hoping to be snowed in this weekend...4-6 inches on the way I hear. So I'm going to try "painting" a baby, which I'm sure will be much harder than a puppy. I thought the soften edges thing looked like what I might need.

Thanks for any input. I'm starting to like this forum as much as my Canon Forum.

Not sure if they are all there, As i had some and then downloaded the brushes from Lisa, as well ( pretty sure the soften edges is there and it is Very useful )
But different smudgers use different brushes Scott Deardoff mainly uses just the rough round bristle, Mainly it is a case of finding which brush you get on with best

Danny and Palms...thanks so much for all the help! Turns out I'm not snowed in (pooh!), so I'll have to wait till tonight to work on this. There are two pictures that I'm considering working on first. I've attached them. They are completely unedited (straight from camera-raw).

The baby is the owner of the hands picture that I posted initially. I think this is gonna be a lot harder than I thought. I'll post anything that I come up with if it's presentable. Thanks again for the help.

Adorable pics... great potential. That's 90% of the battle right there. No distracting items to get rid of.

Thanks for offering the pix to play with. I'm going to start a separate thread for that so we can keep this thread focused on "your journey."

re: I'll post anything that I come up with if it's presentable.
I have no doubt you'll come up with something that's most presentable. Don't hesitate to upload and share. Feedback is a good thing.

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More food for thought (see attached). A common/popular technique is to add an inch or so of white to each edge and pull "paint" into this area. See how "painted" this looks by just smooshing the edges? [don't stop here... the point is to illustrate the importance of painterly-looking edges]

Before you get too far along, "keep the end result in mind" in terms of print (painting) dimensions if you intend to print on canvas or whatever.

If "gallery wrap" is on the radar and you're "painting to the edges," not doing this "expand canvas by adding white to edges" thing, plan for that before you start smudging. It's much easier in the long run to account early on for the extra, say, 2" of painting on each edge to accomodate the gallery wrap vs. finish a 20"x24" painting, THEN ask yourself, "Hmmm...how / where am I going to get 2" of painted edges without reducing this to a 16"x20" ?"

Your dog smudge is just beautiful...totally agree with Danny in what he says about you starting to do dog portraits....Its a great forum for help here and there is always someone who knows!!!
Good luck with your baby...cant wait to see your results.....hope you are well now!!!

Danny what a mine of information you are...thanks for the tips and suggestions...a great help to us all...

Here is a link for the way Scott does a smudge portrait he does a lot of preparation first....